work nothing close partnership the the state, the state is lead on the firefighting side, lead on recovery, but the ederal government and state government, along with local municipal fire departments will of thegether in the wake fire. host: phone number on the bottom of the screen for our guests. robert bonnie, talking about california and other wildfires, money involved on the federal government end. for dealing with and we'll get to your calls. 202-748-8001, republicans. is your , 202-748-8000 number. >> taking you now to the white house. president trump: i want to say we just spent quite a bit of

time inside with the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell mcconnell, a friend of mine for a long time, long before my world of politics. we have been friends for a long time. we are probably now despite what we read, i think as far as i'm probably problem -- closer than ever before. we are fighting for lower taxes, big tax cut's. we are fighting for tax reform as part of that. we are getting close to health care. that will come up in the mid-part of next year. i think we already have the votes. i believe republicans and democrats are working together very hard now to do an because obamalan

care is a disaster. the rates have gone. the deductibles have gone through the roof. you look at the deductibles. have been working together long and hard. we think we are in good shape with the budget. everargest tax cut's passed in this country. look at other countries. we are competing with china at 15%. i hear ireland is going to be .educing corporate rates to 8% other countries also reducing. 35% and remain competitive in terms of jobs. we worked on that. i was honored to see james lee witt of the clinton

administration, the head of fema , he gave us an a plus. i've always had respect for him. he is the fema director of the clinton administration. gave us an a plus for how we responded to the hurricane aftermath. all of the hurricanes, and that includes puerto rico. wherever you may be now listening, i appreciate that. that took it out of the world of politics. he was with the clinton administration and i'm sure remains loyal to the clinton administration. to finish off my relationship with this gentleman is outstanding, house -- has been outstanding. we are working to get tax cut. we will continue to get health care completed.

i'm going to be surprising people with an economic development bill. i haven't even told that because . lot of focus on tax cuts justice.fr great he's going to be outstanding hopefully for many years. something people are not talking about is how many judges we have had approved. whether be district judges. review tremendous under the democrats are holding them up beyond comprehension. frankly they have terrible policy. terrible policy. goodps they are not politicians but they are good at abstraction. i look at these numbers. between the judges, we will set

records in terms of the number of judges. "the wall street journal. i have to give them a writer -- you can see who has been a fair person wrote an article, wrote an editorial saying how well we are doing with the judges and appointments. it is one of the unsung things of this administration. we have had a lot of legislation passed. the judge story is an untold story. mitch and i were saying that has consequences 40 years out. many are in the pipeline. the level of quality is extraordinary. i wanted to say we are working closely on that, getting great

and in from those people some cases scholars. there's never been anything like what we have been able to do with judges. i would like to have mitch say a few words. >> thank you, mr. president. we have the same agenda. we have been friends for a long time. we talk frequently. we don't give you a readout every time we have a conversation. we talk about the issues that are before us. enablesa budget which tax reduction comes next. and the supplemental to take those who have been harmed by the natural disasters we have been afflicted with. and the senate's unique role. people forget we are in the

personnel business. nominations in the senate, the house is not in the personnel business. the most significant thing this president has done is the appointment of neil gorsuch to the supreme court. it is not just the supreme court , there are a lot of vacancies as the president has indicated. young, conservative. what we are talking about, the people the president is appointing believe that the role of a judge is to rule based on what the law says, not what they hoped the outcome would be. scalia used to say -- then he is not a good judge.

wear red or blue. they wear black. those are the people the president is sending to be confirmed. many of them will be on the bench for a long time and have a deal to do with what kind of country we are going to have in the future. the top priority is tax reduction. contrary to what some have reported we are totally on this agenda to move america forward. president trump: john. [in audible question]

>> do you think you will get it done this congress? would you be ok if it was not passed until next year? trump: i would like to see it done this year. if we get it done that is a great achievement. it took years for the reagan administration to get taxes done. i have been here nine months. i can say the same thing for health care. if you look at obama, clinton, they were not able to get it done. president obama, after a long time was able to push it through but pushed through something that has failed badly. we are meeting with democrats and republicans now working on something special. i really believe we have a good chance. done.ting the taxes

hopefully long before the end of the year. mcconnell: it is important in marcher obama care -- obama signed obamacare in march of year 2. we are going to get this done by the end of the year. president trump: we could have a long way to go but that is ok with us. >> on health care, the only problem i have is that after hearing repeal and replace, it failed. that should never happen. again, we have been doing health care for seven months.

probably six months. we started in a total of six months. others were eight years and did not get it passed. doneman is going to get it long before anyone else and i think it is going to be a great health care. tom marino was an early supporter of mine. he is a great guy. i did see the report. we are going to take it seriously. we will have a major announcement next week on the drug crisis and the opioid massive problem. i want to get that right. this country and frankly the world has a problem. it -- doing to do something about it. we are going to be looking into that. >> thank you mr. president. do you support the plan by

people in your administration like steve annan, to primary republican candidates who do not support you. president trump: i have a good relationship with steve annan. -- bannon. some of the people he made be looking at, prickly they are great people. what mitch will tell you is with the exception of a few, a small few, i have a fantastic relationship with the people in congress. our house of representatives. . have a great relationship if you read the papers you would think i'm on one island and then the other. we have a fantastic relationship. i'm friends with most of them. people that have more of a percentage. i think they like and respect me.

the republican party is unified. when we get things approved we have to go through hell. we have no democrat support. we don't have a vote from the democrats. massive tax guts. we may not get any democrat votes. we may get three or four. with the highest tax country in the world. yet we may not get any democrat support. they are obstructionists and just one us to do badly but that is not going to happen. [inaudible question] president trump: we are going to look at that closely.

he is a good man. i have not spoken to him. negative tot is 1% doing what we want to do i will make a change, yes. >> what about declaring it a national emergency. president trump: we are going to be doing that next week. people have no understanding of what you just said. that is a very big statement. it is a very important step. a lot of forecast to be done. we are going to do it next week. ok? >> did you have a chance to discuss the comments steve annan made this weekend?

mitch mcconnell: the goal is to win elections in november. in 2010 and 2012 we nominated several candidates. christine o'donnell, sharron murdoch.chard they are not in the senate. they were not able to appeal to a broader electorate in the general election. my goal is the leader of the republican party of the senate, to keep the senate majority. the way you do that is not complicated. we have to nominate people who can win. winners make policy and losers go home. we nominated people who could win everywhere. we took the majority in the senate. we cap to the majority in the senate. our operating approach will be to support our incumbents and an open seats to seek to help

nominate people who can actually win in november. that is my approach. that is the way you keep a governing majority. >> mr. president. mr. president. >> you criticized drug companies . saying they were taking money. what do you mean? trump: the insurance companies have made a fortune with obamacare. what i did with the cut, you are talking hundreds of millions of dollars into the pockets of insurance companies. i'm happy with what i did. people are talking now. democrats are talking for a short-term taking care of health care so people can have good health care without big spikes.

every year the massive spikes to obamacare have been ridiculous. i did not speak about mitch about this today but a priority of mine will be the cost of prescription drugs. we are going to get the costs way down and those drug with regard to both come you have the drug companies. they contribute massive amounts of money to political people. i don't know mitch, maybe even to you. me, i am not interested in their money. i don't need their money. you have prescription drugs. you go to england, various places. the same bill from the same company is a tiny fraction of the united states. we are going to get drug prices way down because the world is

taking advantage of us. that is going to be very important. >> mr. president. .in on ident that you have cut off these payments are you going to assure those people? president trump: that is what we are looking to do. you look at some states. 200% up.ver those are some of the states doing better. obamacare is a mess destroying lives. ,e want to get in those states also in states that i did not win. i want to get health care that is more affordable and better.

>> tax reform. -- gary the other day cohen said -- [inaudible] what is negotiable? use of the top priority is tax reduction. president trump: we are doing minor adjustments. we want to make sure the middle class is the biggest beneficiary. get it confused. we are doing massive tax guts s andimplification -- cut reform. we are doing major simplification. .e are bringing categories down if you include zero, from 8-4. that is a big supplication.

we are doing massive cots. wherever i have been, this has been popular with the people. now we have to get additional people to raise their hands. mcconnell: i agree with the president. it is not reduction and reform. it has been 30 years since this effort was undertaken. we are going to succeed this time. the bill will be written by the ways and means and finance committees. budget opens the path to tax reform but it is about both perform and reduction. >> why haven't we heard anything about the soldier killed in niger? trump: i have written personal letters.

point during the time call the parents and the families. i have done that traditionally. i felt badly about that. it is the toughest calls i have to make, where this happens. soldiers are killed. it is a difficult thing. it gets to a point where you make four or five of them in one day. , if you lookal way at president obama and other presidents most of them did not make calls. i like to call when it is to.opriate, when i am able they have made the ultimate sacrifice. generally i would say i like to call. i want a little time to pass. i have since i have been president.

i actually wrote letters individually to the soldiers and they are going out today or tomorrow. >> general kelly said cuba could stop the attacks against america. president trump: i believe that. i believe cuba is responsible. >> you believe homosexuality should be illegal and muslims should be barred from serving in the u.s.? what makes you comfortable with that? mr. trump: i'm going to be meeting with him next week and we will talk about a lot of different things. he ran a strong race.

the people of alabama, they like roy and we will be talking to him. i will be talking to you then. >> this is a question for you and mr. mcconnell. one of the issues is the .udiciary committee [inaudible] slip,connell: the blue for those of you not familiar with it, is a custom. senator grassley can give you is you. slip on a that a blue circuit judge is simply a

notification of how you are going to vote. havenclude otherwise would left us in the following position. 48 democratic senators would have been able to black ball the .ircuit judge nominees that is not a tenable place to land in a senate that now deals with a simple majority. my personal view is that a below slip should simply be a notification of how you intend to vote. president trump: i just want capable people going to the courts. >> in 2012 you tweeted obama complaining about -- [inaudible] you said he can never take responsibility.

,oday you said the challenges i'm not going to blame myself. they are not getting the job done. what is different then than now? president trump: we have nominations pending now, and 182 approved. the number he had approved was 65%. they are holding up every nomination. schumer and the group are holding up every single nomination. they are not good politicians but they are good at obstruction. it is not right. they will bring them out to the end at last minute. what they are doing is unfair. you look at bush, clinton, obama, bush original, you look

at clinton, 357 versus 182. these are nominations approved and what they are doing to us. we have unbelievable people waiting to be approved. startk mitch is going to pushing them hard. he also wants to get the judicial nominations through fast. >> could i follow on that? a spirit ofhave cooperation with the senate minority leader and the house minority leader. proposal since they have been they have rejected. where is this relationship? president trump: i hope to have

a relationship. if we don't, we don't. we have races coming up. i think we are going to do well. if we get taxes approved we are going to do unbelievably well. well, we are going to let you know that. i would like to give you that answer seven years from now. i hope to be able to. i like the concept of bipartisan. right now they are doing nothing but obstructing. if you think about it they are against major tax guts that is going to make the country stronger. that is a hard thing to win an election on. some democrats are going to vote for us when it comes to tax guts.

-- tax cuts. somewhere in between or shortly thereafter i am going to be developing an economic development bill that will put us so far ahead of other countries you will not even believe it. >> last week your administration made two major announcements on and getting rid of the cautionary reductions as part of obamacare. a lot of criticism has been leveled saying all you are doing -- president trump: and a lot of praise. >> all you are doing is rolling back everything your predecessor accomplished.

is there anything of your predecessor you do not want to touch? you look atump: if what has happened, we hit a new high today in the stock market. $5.2 trillion up in stock market value. we have the lowest unemployment rate in 17 years. we are doing well. we are going to do immigration work. we are going to have people coming into our country based on a merit system, not just randomly. where they can help us. i have companies moving into this country. you saw the automobile industry last week. we have companies pouring in for the first time in anybody's memory. we are actually going to be fairly certain at the point where we will need workers. going to be aare

major part of it. >> is there anything you would like to keep in place? president trump: not too many. it is the opposite side of the spectrum. earlier you said that president obama never called families. president trump: i do a combination of both. sometimes it is a difficult thing to do. obama i think probably did sometimes. maybe sometimes he did not. all i can do is ask my generals. other presidents did not call. some did not do anything. i like the combination. when i can they call and also a letter.

>> mr. president. it would help robert mueller get to the end of the rush investigation -- president trump: excuse me. excuse me. it was an excuse for the democrats losing the election. today hillary blamed nigel farage. that was an excuse for the democrats losing an election. they have a big advantage in electoral college. they were unable to do it. collusion.een no it has been stated they have no collusion. they ought to get to the end of it. president, do you believe your comment affected bowe bergdahl's ability to receive a fair trial? president trump: i can't

comment. ands doing something today they are setting up sentencing. i'm not going to comment on him. people of heard my comments in the past. [inaudible] president trump: they should be able to do something but we need strong border security and we want the wall. [inaudible] president trump: we had a great conversation. we have fema there. james gave us an a plus. i think if he didn't include the fires he would have included the fires also. we have first responders there. we are working closely with representatives from california

and we are doing a good job. [inaudible] president trump: it is totally fake news. just fake. it is disgraceful. that happens in the world of politics. [inaudible] ourident trump: hour country needs a wall. you see what happened with one of their big political leaders. doing particularly well when it comes to the thing we have great interest in. are pouring across our

border. we need a wall in this country. everybody knows it. we have to have a wall. on the puerto rico situation, -- that is according to the clinton administration's head of fema it has been outstanding. puerto rico is tough because it is an island. it was in porsche it before the hurricane hit. there electrical grid was destroyed before the hurricanes got there. it was in bankruptcy. it owed $9 billion. on top of that the hurricane came. you're going to have to build a whole new electrical plant system. puerto rico has more generators that any place in the world. they are all over the place.

their electrical system was in horrible shape and even worse shape after. we are working now, relief funds congress.approved by that includes texas, florida and puerto rico, u.s. virgin islands. but it was in bad shape before. , i will say this -- we have delivered tremendous amounts of water. we have to have distribution. we have massive amounts of water . massive amounts of food. they have to distribute the food to the people of the island. what we have done is we have military distributing food, something that they should not have to be doing. ofyou look at the governor puerto rico, he himself has said we have done an outstanding job.

the puerto rico is a tough one. [inaudible] president trump: do you want to talk about that? mr. mcconnell: was the question about the 20 week? it is supported by all of my members. we expect to have a vote on it at some point. [inaudible] president trump: i will go to south korea, to china, to japan for the summit. we have a big economic summit there. i may be going to the philippines.

we have been invited. i look forward to them. we have not sent the details as of this moment. we will take a look at that. i did not hear in terms of provoking. >> you discuss the investigation. are you considering firing robert mueller? president trump: no. >> [inaudible] are you concerned about a larger conflict in the region while forces are advising on the ground? : we don'ttrump ho like that they are clashing. we have had a good relationship with the kurds. we should have never been there in the first place. but we are not taking sides in

that battle. >> hillary clinton says she did the players in the nfl were about disrespecting the flag. hope hillarymp: i runs. please run again. i think she is wrong. when they take a knee, there's plenty of time to do lots of things. when you take a knee, that is why she lost the election. it is that thinking. down and take a knee or any other way, you are sitting, for our great national anthem. you are disrespecting our flag and our country. the nfl should have suspended some of these players for one

game. if they did it again it could've been two games and then for the season. you would not have people disrespecting our country now. if hillary clinton made the statement that sitting down during the playing of our great national anthem is not disrespectful, i fully understand why she did not win. there are a lot of reasons including the fact that she was not good at what she did. that is something that i just heard about. itself her statement in is disrespectful to our country. >> as it relates to the nfl --

the police involved shooting issue. president trump: it is disrespectful to our country. disrespectful to our country when they take a knee during the national anthem. the people of our country are vary a great at the nfl. look at their ratings in their stadiums. you see empty seats. a lot of people are very angry at it. they shouldn't do it. thank you very much, everybody. >> hearing from president trump and the senate majority leader.

if there is a white house briefing we will bring that to you live. a discussion about the relationship between hollywood and the democratic party from today's washington journal. jeremy for thes hollywood reporter. good morning. thought we would bring you want to talk about the democratic party. party and harvey winestein case but speak to us in the broad sense about hollywood and the democrats and their relationship. how intertwined are they? when did all of that begin and how has in the broad it endured guest: it's been happening for decades. hollywood and actors and entertainers and executives are very, very reliable funders for democrats. basically every major democratic candidate has been able to rely on hollywood to raise millions of dollars. that's why the party is